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12.06.2013

How To Add Snow Flocking To A Christmas Tree

Have you wondered how to add snow flocking to a Christmas tree like I have? Let me show you how I did it. I have been wanting to buy a new Christmas tree for a couple of years now but it just hasn't been in the budget to do so. This leaves me with a crooked tree that looks a bit bedraggled when I start out decorating

That is OK because I have a few designer tricks up my sleeve that will help this poor tilted tree look it's best. I decided to add snow to it's branches this year and a book or two under the tilted side will help it stand straight again. I have a Pre-Lit tree that I did myself so my lights were already on. If you don't have a tree that can be made pre-lit then I would do the snow and then the lights. Now for the snow, you will never believe what I used to make snow. I bet you guessed Ivory snow flakes added with some water & starch! Well, I could have done it that way if I could have found the Ivory Snow flakes but there was none to be had in town(and I didn't want to grate up bars of Ivory Snow because it would take too much time)(you can find instructions here) But, I tried something a bit different.

Was this your second guess? Well it was not even on my radar until I was Googling how to add snow to a Christmas tree. I found a page on a website called Thrifty Fun that gave me the hint (yes, I know I could have just taken the credit myself but I believe in giving credit where credit is due.) If you look at the comments you will find one where someone suggests this method. They didn't give me precise measurements though (ugh!)

I didn't let that stop me from trying though. I mixed my first batch up with about 1/2 of the can and 1 bottle of glue(later I added about 1/2 a bottle more to this mix). I beat it with a wire whisk into stiff peaks. I tested it on a branch of greenery by dabbing little globs on and then sprinkling with some Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter (4.586 oz.) (of course I had to make it sparkly!) It only took 1 partial bottle of glitter, 3 cans of Barbasol Original Shaving Cream(You can use any scent but it needs to be white) and approximately 9 bottles of Elmer's Glue (I decided I wanted my snow to be a bit harder so I added more glue as I went along.

I used a paintbrush to apply the "snow" mixture. Some of the branches I just brushed a bit on like a frost had come and on other parts of the branch I added globs of snow. On each, I sprinkled glitter. You could frost each branch but I just put bits on mine. I placed towels under the tree to catch my accidental drips. Everything cleaned up with water. I left the tree to dry overnight. The snow feels a bit softer than I expected (kind of like bubbles with air in the middle) but it is dry and ready to be decorated. Stay tuned for my next post on how to make this (ahem) almost Charlie Brown looking tree come into full decorated glory.